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[ponpo]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ott...es-against-those-who-boycott-israel-1.3067497

The Harper government is signalling its intention to use hate crime laws against Canadian advocacy groups that encourage boycotts of Israel. Such a move could target a range of civil society organizations, from the United Church of Canada and the Canadian Quakers to campus protest groups and labour unions.

If carried out, it would be a remarkably aggressive tactic, and another measure of the Conservative government's lockstep support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The government's intention was made clear in a response to inquiries from CBC News about statements by federal ministers of a "zero tolerance" approach to groups participating in a loose coalition called Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS), which was begun in 2006 at the request of Palestinian non-governmental organizations.

Asked to explain what zero tolerance means, and what is being done to enforce it, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney replied, four days later, with a detailed list of Canada's updated hate laws, noting that Canada has one of the most comprehensive sets of such laws "anywhere in the world."

But Canada, a country where the federal Liberal and NDP leaders also oppose BDS, appears to have lined up more strongly behind Israel than any other nation.In January, Canada's then foreign affairs minister, John Baird, signed a "memorandum of agreement" with Israeli authorities in Jerusalem, pledging to combat BDS.

It described the movement as "the new face of anti-Semitism."

Canadian civil liberties groups maintain that boycotts are a long-recognized form of political expression, and therefore constitutionally protected.

In March, the Canadian Quakers wrote a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson, expressing concern about Blaney's speech and protesting the label of anti-Semitism.

Nicholson's response merely repeated the talking points first used by Blaney at the UN, and the government's vow not to tolerate boycotts.But in response to specific questions about what "zero tolerance" of BDS means, and how it will be enforced, Blaney aide Josee Sirois gave CBC News a much clearer picture of the government's intent. "I can tell you that Canada has one of the most comprehensive sets of laws against hate crime anywhere in the world," wrote Sirois.

She highlighted what she termed "hate propaganda" provisions in the Criminal Code criminalizing the promotion of hatred against an identifiable group, and further noted that "identifiable group" now includes any section of the public distinguished by "among other characteristics, religion or national or ethnic origin." She also referred to Criminal Code provisions requiring that a judge consider hate, bias or prejudice when sentencing an offender. "We will not allow hate crimes to undermine our way of life, which is based on diversity and inclusion," she concluded.

More at the link.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

Everyone still loves hate speech codes, though don't they?

 

[Frustrated_me]

 

[ponpo]

Everyone still loves hate speech codes, though don't they?

In France, the law has for years criminalized hate speech based on national origin, and authorities there have in recent years been using it to prosecute BDS advocates. To date, more than 20 have been convicted.

According to the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, pro-Israel activists in Belgium are pushing for a similar law there.

The Obama administration officially opposes boycotts of Israel, and a measure now before Congress would direct American trade negotiators to discourage boycotts of Israeli goods.

But America has no hate speech laws. The U.S. constitution guarantees free speech. So a zero tolerance policy, or the type of prosecutions Canada is considering, would be impossible.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

This would be a straight up bastardization of hate crime laws.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

Psh.

 

[GK86]

Does Israel have naked pictures of everyone or something?

 

[evanmisha]

Does Israel have naked pictures of everyone or something?

Something something God

 

[Enduin]

Does Israel have naked pictures of everyone or something?

Israel is the like the Scientology of governments confirmed.

 

[Alavard]

Thanks. I was going to make a thread myself, but wasn't sure which parts to highlight.

One of the organizations being threatened is the United Church of Canada - the most welcoming and progressive church I've ever been to, and I'm not a member (not even Christian).

And there's not a fucking way this stands up to a court challenge. It's just bullying by the government.

This has me so incredibly angry on multiple levels.

 

[GSG Flash]

Fuck Stephen Harper

This is all hot air to appease Jewish groups. I'd like to see him try bringing those advocacy groups to court on hate crime charges, he doesn't have the balls to do it, and if he's stupid enough to actually bring them to court, it's going to get laughed out of court.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

This is so profoundly stupid and fucked up. I can't believe they would try something like this.

 

[AxelFoley]

Oh, Canada

 

[Kinsei]

Everyone still loves hate speech codes, though don't they?

This pretty much secures the PC party won't win the election.

I'll take our hate speech laws over your free speech laws.

 

[Sinfamy]

This just perpetuates the "Jews control everything" mentality, if doesn't work in their favor.

Boycotting or disliking the government of a country =/= hating the people of said country.

 

[Boogie]

Fortunately, members of parliament do not lay criminal charges in this country.

 

[SteveWinwood]

as opposed to Ottawa (anywhere else)?

 

[ponpo]

Thanks. I was going to make a thread myself, but wasn't sure which parts to highlight.

Neither do I

One of the organizations being threatened is the United Church of Canada - the most welcoming and progressive church I've ever been to, and I'm not a member (not even Christian).

For the thread:

Tyler Levitan, a spokesman for Independent Jewish Voices, the principal organizing vehicle for BDS in Canada, said he believes he and his fellow organizers are already under surveillance: "This is about trying to scare people." He said BDS is an "entirely passive movement. It is a decision not to take part in something. Not to be implicated, not to be complicit. It's entirely non-violent."

But it is the non-violence of the boycott approach that attracted groups like the United Church of Canada. Like the Canadian Quakers, the UCC restricts its boycott advocacy to products from Israel's settlements.

"It is the right and duty of citizens in any free state to engage in constructive non-violent peaceful criticism of state actions and behaviours," says Patti Talbot, a senior staff member at the UCC. The church sees itself as anti-racist and progressive, which is why it was horrified by the government's description of its advocacy as anti-Semitism, and worried by the declaration of zero tolerance.

"How is [zero tolerance] going to manifest itself?" asks Talbot. "It could be directed against the United Church, it could be directed at a gamut of individuals in Canadian civil society. People of goodwill."

Talbot said it is all the more troubling given the recent passage of Bill C-51, the government's new anti-terrorism measures, which would further empower the police and intelligence agencies that report to Blaney.

"It's not unrelated," she says, "to the clamping down on dissent."

 

[TheRealTalker]

:/

 

[PumpkinSpice]

as opposed to Ottawa (anywhere else)?

As opposed to Ottawa the city or its city council doing this.

Trying to find local news about Ottawa kinda sucks because of this. Using a capital city's name as a byword for the government of a country is pretty annoying.

 

[Alexlf]

Man oh man, I can't WAIT until Harper is out of office.

 

[Pedrito]

How exactly did Canada become Israel's most loyal lapdog? Unlike in the States, Israel is extremely low on the list of issues here, barely registering at all. So why is it such an obsession for the Harper government?

 

[Dyno]

Our courts have been slapping down Harper's interpretation of the law. Maybe this one gets K.O.ed as well.

 

[Lexxism]

Lol Harper Conservatives. October can't come soon enough.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Man oh man, I can't WAIT until Harper is out of office.

One person won't change ingrained policy decisions like this.

This is just a sickening way of silencing dissenting opinion. A passive boycott of a nation being considered hate speech is one way train to crazy town, as it can then be applied to protest of literally any action that Israel takes.

 

[MagnaderAlpha]

Has the US's conservative "Crusader Obligation" seeped into our neighbors in the north? Nobody should be obligated to "white knight" Israel.

 

[Kimawolf]

Wow that's crazy. You criticize/ boycott Israel you now are a anti Semite/ hate speech pusher huh? Ridiculous. If not for the First Amendment I'm sure it'd be a law in the states as well.

Here I thought Canada was like America's hot liberal little sister.

 

[mdubs]

Edit: Apparently not! Well this is silly then

 

[explodet]

No matter how you feel about Isreal, any zero tolerance policy is a recipe for disaster and should automatically raise a red flag.

Any time you take away discretion or fail to apply individual circumstances, things can go wrong.

 

[winjet81]

So, wait a minute. A boycott of North Korean goods can also be construed as hate crimes against N. Koreans?

 

[AuthenticM]

Hate speech is clearly defined in Canadian jurisprudence and boycotts do not even come close to meeting the criteria. These charges would be unconstitutional.

 

[ponpo]

The interesting thing is this is going to win Harper more votes than it is going to lose him.

Still wrong, but it makes sense from Harper's strategic perspective.

Actually if you look up any article re: Harper's support for Israel, they all mention that it can't be for Jewish votes since it actually costs him more votes than it gets him. Both at home and abroad, it seems to negatively impact popularity.

 

[Josh7289]

Man oh man, I can't WAIT until Harper is out of office.

"But Canada, a country where the federal Liberal and NDP leaders also oppose BDS"

So, if the government says you can't do business with some other country, then that's fine, but if the people individually decide that for themselves, that's a hate crime?

 

[alfredofroylan]

So, wait a minute. A boycott of North Korean goods can also be construed as hate crimes against N. Koreans?

What North Korean goods?

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

So, wait a minute. A boycott of North Korean goods can also be construed as hate crimes against N. Koreans?

Applying logic and consistency to knee-jerk legislation should be the first thing people do before writing this shit, but it's clear either a) they did not, or b) they did, and they don't care because they really want it.

What North Korean goods?

Can easily be applied to anything Made in China or South Korea as well. If I boycott Samsung, am I committing a crime against Canadians of South Korean descent?

 

[mdubs]

Actually if you look up any article re: Harper's support for Israel, they all mention that it can't be for Jewish votes since it actually costs him more votes than it gets him. Both at home and abroad, it seems to negatively impact popularity.

You're right, I'm seeing the same thing now that I'm reading up on it. Weird move then by him.

 

[ponpo]

You're right, I'm seeing the same thing now that I'm reading up on it. Weird move then by him.

His support for Israel also does not appear to be for religious reasons, despite him being an evangelical Christian.

Maybe he is just an Israeli otaku.

 

[Kazerei]

Fuck Harper

 

[alfredofroylan]

Can easily be applied to anything Made in China or South Korea as well. If I boycott Samsung, am I committing a crime against Canadians of South Korean descent?

Yeah I know, but the example isn't that good. Countries like Cuba at least have representative products like ron and cigars, so far I haven't seen a single N. Korean product in my life.

 

[Alavard]

His support for Israel also does not appear to be for religious reasons, despite him being an evangelical Christian.

Maybe he is just an Israeli otaku.

I'm pretty sure it's about locking steps with the US Republicans.

 

[Alexlf]

"But Canada, a country where the federal Liberal and NDP leaders also oppose BDS"

So, if the government says you can't do business with some other country, then that's fine, but if the people individually decide that for themselves, that's a hate crime?

Oppose does not equal make hate speech. It's stupid from any angle regardless, but I sincerely hope that either the NDP or the Liberals throw out rulings like this hand over fist. It's frankly insane.

 

[entremet]

Everyone still loves hate speech codes, though don't they?

Yep. I can't stand hate speech laws, because "hate speech" could be anything the state deems as hate speech as per the example above.

Racists and bigots will always be with us. I'd rather them be in the open so we can boycott, mock and identify them.

 

[Trojita]

Nicholson's response merely repeated the talking points first used by Blaney at the UN, and the government's vow not to tolerate boycotts.But in response to specific questions about what "zero tolerance" of BDS means, and how it will be enforced, Blaney aide Josee Sirois gave CBC News a much clearer picture of the government's intent. "I can tell you that Canada has one of the most comprehensive sets of laws against hate crime anywhere in the world," wrote Sirois.

She highlighted what she termed "hate propaganda" provisions in the Criminal Code criminalizing the promotion of hatred against an identifiable group, and further noted that "identifiable group" now includes any section of the public distinguished by "among other characteristics, religion or national or ethnic origin." She also referred to Criminal Code provisions requiring that a judge consider hate, bias or prejudice when sentencing an offender. "We will not allow hate crimes to undermine our way of life, which is based on diversity and inclusion," she concluded.

Your laws don't cover boycotting a country you dumb fucks. A national origin and the boycotting of an actual country are two different things. You can't discriminate on a person based on where they came from.

 

[Mr. Giggles]

This just perpetuates the "Jews control everything" mentality, if doesn't work in their favor.

Boycotting or disliking the government of a country =/= hating the people of said country.

Thank you, I was just about to post this.

You can disagree with the actions of a government but that doesn't mean you hate the people.

 

[Boogie]

It's stupid from any angle regardless, but I sincerely hope that either the NDP or the Liberals throw out rulings like this hand over fist. It's frankly insane.

There is no "ruling" here. It's a spokesperson for a cabinet member threatening to use existing laws to charge groups. It's a stupid, dangerous argument, but it's not going to even happen.

Good luck finding an investigative unit willing to even take on such a blatantly political investigation and lay such a charge, or a prosecutor willing to proceed with it.

This is dangerous political posturing, but I'd lay real money down that none of these groups ever see a charge.

 

[justjohn]

And I'm sure these same fucking idiots were proclaiming jesuischarlie and how we should protect freedom of speech.

 

[TouchMyBox]

Well this is pretty embarrassing, when are we due for another federal election?

 

[Alavard]

Well this is pretty embarrassing, when are we due for another federal election?

This October actually, unless Harper calls it earlier than that.

 

[Kinsei]

Well this is pretty embarrassing, when are we due for another federal election?

October.

 

[Darksol]

The quakers? Really?